Javier Bardem to star in ‘Peter Pan’?
Javier Bardem has been offered the role of the villain in a new Peter Pan adaptation – but it won’t be the pirate captain you expect.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bardem will play Captain Blackbeard in the Warner Bros. studios film, which is based on JM Barrie’s original tale about the boy who never grows up.
Time reports that the film – one of three Peter Pan adaptations currently in the works – is an origin story based on the mythology created by Barrie, which Deadline reports sees Blackbeard lead the group of evil Neverland pirates against whom "an orphan" mounts a rebellion.
According to The Mary Sue, Barrie intended Hook and Blackbeard have connecting origins — Captain Hook was, according to Barrie’s Peter and Wendy, "Blackbeard’s bo’sun" and the only man of whom iconic Treasure Island pirate Long John Silver is afraid.
Joe Wright has signed up to direct the film with Jason Fuchs writing the project, which has been compared to Batman Begins and could indicate plans for a franchise.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is "very high" on the project and has made it "one of its priorities".
Meanwhile, Sony currently has a project called Pan in the pipeline, while Disney is working on Peter and the Starcatchers.
